In the past, a cleaner cleaning an intermediate transfer belt unit disposed in an image forming apparatus was fixed to an intermediate transfer belt unit or a main body of the apparatus with bolts or screws.
However, in the configuration in which the cleaner is fixed to the intermediate transfer belt unit with bolts or the like, unless the intermediate transfer belt unit is completely drawn out of the main body, the cleaner cannot be detached therefrom. Accordingly, it takes time to draw out the intermediate transfer belt unit and to detach the cleaner, thereby causing inconvenience in view of maintenance.
In the configuration in which the cleaner is fixed to the main body with bolts or the like, it is difficult to secure positional precision between the cleaner and the intermediate transfer belt unit, thereby not sufficiently exhibiting the cleaning performance.
Therefore, as described in JP-A-2001-255750, there is provided a technique of permitting the detachment of the cleaner with a lever operation without using screws or bolts.
However, in the above-mentioned technique, at the time of detaching the cleaner, it is necessary to perform the lever operation in addition to the operation of drawing out the intermediate transfer belt unit, which is troublesome. In addition, since it is necessary to provide a mechanism for permitting the attachment and detachment of the cleaner to and from the intermediate transfer belt unit with the lever operation, there is a problem that the configuration is complicated.